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Description

    “Shall we depart then,” Leif asked as we stood on the shore of Olivine City.

    “The sooner the better,” I answered.

    “OK, go Aerodactyl!”

    “Come on out, Aqua,” May called.

    “Time for a swim, Toxi!”

    My two traveling companions looked at the Tentacool I had released into the water, then back at me.

    “Where did this one come from,” Leif asked, perplexed.

    “I caught her off the coast of Dewford Island,” I explained, “I figured I needed a water Pokémon at some point, so I had Professor Birch send her to me.”

    “Why not just have Mimic transform into Aerodactyl?”

    “Mimic may be able to look like an Aerodactyl, but I fear its ability to fly like one.”

    “It’s a long trip to Cianwood,” May observed, “are you sure she can handle the trip.”

    “Sure I’m sure. Your dad told me that she has gotten a lot stronger since I first caught her that long time ago.”

    And so off we went. I had changed into the one pair of athletic shorts I had that, kept for just such an occasion. I latched onto my Tentacool’s head as she swam. Fortunately for me, a Tentacool’s stinging arms don’t injure you if the Pokémon trusts you. May was able to ride on Aqua’s back as he swam, though she stripped down to a bikini top and jean shorts anyway. Leif flew above us on Aerodactyl. We were counting on him to alert us to any potential problems.

    As we traveled, we saw many different Pokémon. There were Staryu, Corsola, Seel, Dewgong, and Remoraid. Strangely, they all seemed to be traveling in the opposite direction, as if there was something we should avoid. As a precaution, I had Leif fly ahead. It didn’t take long for his fast mount to return to our airspace.

    “Guys, we have a problem,” Leif reported, having Aerodactyl fly very close to the water’s surface, “there’s a large group of Tentacruel and Tentacool not two miles dead ahead of us, and they don’t seem friendly.”

    “Can we just swim around them,” I asked, “last thing I want to do is go into a Tentacool nesting area.”

    “Don’t think that’s going to work. I tried to find a way around them, but they are stretched as far as the eye can see and farther.”

    “What do we do then,” May worried, “We have to get to Cianwood somehow.”

    “We could try to go to the Whirl Islands,” I suggested, “we should be able to use them as an alternate path, that is, if we can avoid the whirlpools.”

    “Whirlpools,” May yelped, “No way.”

    “Are you suggesting that we swim right into a Tentacruel nest?”

    “All I’m saying is that we can battle Tentacruel. We can’t battle whirlpools.”

    “I have no intention of fighting innocent Tentacruel just to get to Cianwood. We have to take the path of least resistance, and that is the Whirl Islands.”

    “Uh guys,” Leif interjected, pointing in the direction of Cianwood, “we don’t have time to argue. The Tentacruel are making the decision for us.”

    I raised my hand to my brow to block the mid-day sun. You could faintly make out the tops of the Tentracruel, hundreds of them, along with a few dozen Tentacool.

    “Swim away,” May yelled, trying to turn Aqua around.

    “No,” I shouted, “come on Toxi!”

    “Augustine, get back here right now!”

    I didn’t listen. May was right; I really didn’t want to go through the whirlpools either. We could get to Cianwood tonight if we could just get through the Tentacruel, and the only way to do that was with the help of a fellow Jellyfish Pokémon. The two parties swam toward each other until Toxi and I were directly in front of the leader Tentacruel. This Tentacruel was absolutely massive; there was no way we could take him in a fight. I would have to hope that diplomacy would win out.

    The Tentacruel gestured toward Toxi and me, Toxi responding with gestures of her own. Although I knew a lot about Pokémon and their habits, I was no expert on Pokémon language, thus I had no idea what they saying.

    “The Tentacruel is explaining his territory,” Leif said, reminding me of his ability to do what I couldn’t, “he’s talking to Toxi as if she has never been a wild Pokémon.”

    “Well that’s just not true,” I countered, “Toxi may not be from this region, but she was a wild Pokémon.”

    “That’s what Toxi is trying to explain to him.”

    “We just need to get past, and then we’ll be out of his tentacles.”

    “He knows if he lets us pass now, then we’ll try to go through his territory on our way back. Humans forced them to change their breeding grounds, he says, and he won’t let us step on him.”

    “Forced?”

    “Town on the other side. He’s referring to Cianwood. Jasmine told us something was amiss in Cianwood, maybe this is related.”

    I let go of Toxi and swam up to the Tentacruel on my own.

    “I can understand why you would be upset. I would be too. But believe me, whatever is going on over there is not only hurting Pokémon, but hurting other people. We want to go over there and fix things, make it possible for the people and Pokémon to live in harmony again. If you let us pass, I promise we will do everything in our power to fix whatever is going on. Please let us try.”

    A small Tentacool swam over to me. It very slowly wrapped its two tentacles around my left arm. They didn’t sting. The two of us, human and Pokémon, looked back at the big Tentacruel. It’s hard to read a Tentacruel’s eyes, since they are mostly hidden, but I could definitely see a slight lightening of its glare. He reached out with his tentacles, wrapping them around my body. They didn’t hurt, but I was still a bit worried. He lifted me completely out of the water. At that moment, I could see all the other Tentacool and Tentacruel looked very happy. The big Tentacruel placed me back in the water. Toxi soon came up to assist me. Then all the Jellyfish Pokémon separated slightly, like the parting of the sea. May and I, along with our Pokémon, made our way through as quickly as we could, Leif flying overhead. When we reached the other side, all the Tentacool and Tentacruel had turned around and were waving at us with their tentacles.

Description

    “Shall we depart then,” Leif asked as we stood on the shore of Olivine City.

    “The sooner the better,” I answered.

    “OK, go Aerodactyl!”

    “Come on out, Aqua,” May called.

    “Time for a swim, Toxi!”

    My two traveling companions looked at the Tentacool I had released into the water, then back at me.

    “Where did this one come from,” Leif asked, perplexed.

    “I caught her off the coast of Dewford Island,” I explained, “I figured I needed a water Pokémon at some point, so I had Professor Birch send her to me.”

    “Why not just have Mimic transform into Aerodactyl?”

    “Mimic may be able to look like an Aerodactyl, but I fear its ability to fly like one.”

    “It’s a long trip to Cianwood,” May observed, “are you sure she can handle the trip.”

    “Sure I’m sure. Your dad told me that she has gotten a lot stronger since I first caught her that long time ago.”

    And so off we went. I had changed into the one pair of athletic shorts I had that, kept for just such an occasion. I latched onto my Tentacool’s head as she swam. Fortunately for me, a Tentacool’s stinging arms don’t injure you if the Pokémon trusts you. May was able to ride on Aqua’s back as he swam, though she stripped down to a bikini top and jean shorts anyway. Leif flew above us on Aerodactyl. We were counting on him to alert us to any potential problems.

    As we traveled, we saw many different Pokémon. There were Staryu, Corsola, Seel, Dewgong, and Remoraid. Strangely, they all seemed to be traveling in the opposite direction, as if there was something we should avoid. As a precaution, I had Leif fly ahead. It didn’t take long for his fast mount to return to our airspace.

    “Guys, we have a problem,” Leif reported, having Aerodactyl fly very close to the water’s surface, “there’s a large group of Tentacruel and Tentacool not two miles dead ahead of us, and they don’t seem friendly.”

    “Can we just swim around them,” I asked, “last thing I want to do is go into a Tentacool nesting area.”

    “Don’t think that’s going to work. I tried to find a way around them, but they are stretched as far as the eye can see and farther.”

    “What do we do then,” May worried, “We have to get to Cianwood somehow.”

    “We could try to go to the Whirl Islands,” I suggested, “we should be able to use them as an alternate path, that is, if we can avoid the whirlpools.”

    “Whirlpools,” May yelped, “No way.”

    “Are you suggesting that we swim right into a Tentacruel nest?”

    “All I’m saying is that we can battle Tentacruel. We can’t battle whirlpools.”

    “I have no intention of fighting innocent Tentacruel just to get to Cianwood. We have to take the path of least resistance, and that is the Whirl Islands.”

    “Uh guys,” Leif interjected, pointing in the direction of Cianwood, “we don’t have time to argue. The Tentacruel are making the decision for us.”

    I raised my hand to my brow to block the mid-day sun. You could faintly make out the tops of the Tentracruel, hundreds of them, along with a few dozen Tentacool.

    “Swim away,” May yelled, trying to turn Aqua around.

    “No,” I shouted, “come on Toxi!”

    “Augustine, get back here right now!”

    I didn’t listen. May was right; I really didn’t want to go through the whirlpools either. We could get to Cianwood tonight if we could just get through the Tentacruel, and the only way to do that was with the help of a fellow Jellyfish Pokémon. The two parties swam toward each other until Toxi and I were directly in front of the leader Tentacruel. This Tentacruel was absolutely massive; there was no way we could take him in a fight. I would have to hope that diplomacy would win out.

    The Tentacruel gestured toward Toxi and me, Toxi responding with gestures of her own. Although I knew a lot about Pokémon and their habits, I was no expert on Pokémon language, thus I had no idea what they saying.

    “The Tentacruel is explaining his territory,” Leif said, reminding me of his ability to do what I couldn’t, “he’s talking to Toxi as if she has never been a wild Pokémon.”

    “Well that’s just not true,” I countered, “Toxi may not be from this region, but she was a wild Pokémon.”

    “That’s what Toxi is trying to explain to him.”

    “We just need to get past, and then we’ll be out of his tentacles.”

    “He knows if he lets us pass now, then we’ll try to go through his territory on our way back. Humans forced them to change their breeding grounds, he says, and he won’t let us step on him.”

    “Forced?”

    “Town on the other side. He’s referring to Cianwood. Jasmine told us something was amiss in Cianwood, maybe this is related.”

    I let go of Toxi and swam up to the Tentacruel on my own.

    “I can understand why you would be upset. I would be too. But believe me, whatever is going on over there is not only hurting Pokémon, but hurting other people. We want to go over there and fix things, make it possible for the people and Pokémon to live in harmony again. If you let us pass, I promise we will do everything in our power to fix whatever is going on. Please let us try.”

    A small Tentacool swam over to me. It very slowly wrapped its two tentacles around my left arm. They didn’t sting. The two of us, human and Pokémon, looked back at the big Tentacruel. It’s hard to read a Tentacruel’s eyes, since they are mostly hidden, but I could definitely see a slight lightening of its glare. He reached out with his tentacles, wrapping them around my body. They didn’t hurt, but I was still a bit worried. He lifted me completely out of the water. At that moment, I could see all the other Tentacool and Tentacruel looked very happy. The big Tentacruel placed me back in the water. Toxi soon came up to assist me. Then all the Jellyfish Pokémon separated slightly, like the parting of the sea. May and I, along with our Pokémon, made our way through as quickly as we could, Leif flying overhead. When we reached the other side, all the Tentacool and Tentacruel had turned around and were waving at us with their tentacles.